Presidential Communications Operations Office
Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said the declaration was made by virtue of
Proclamation Nos. 807, 808, 809, 810, 811, and 812 signed and issued by
President Aquino on Friday June 20, 2014.

The Order of National Artists was established
under Proclamation No. 1001, s. 1972 to give appropriate recognition and
prestige to Filipinos who have distinguished themselves and made outstanding
contributions to Philippine Arts and Letters.

It is the highest state honor conferred on
individuals deemed as having done much for their artistic field as recommended
by both the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the National
Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Cirilo Bautista is a multi-awarded poet,
fictionist, critic, and essayist whose body of works includes Boneyard
Breaking, Sugat ng Salita, The Archipelago, among others that has received
various accolades from both here and abroad.

Alice Reyes is a dancer and choreographer who
founded Ballet Philippines in 1969, which is widely recognized today as a
cornerstone of the Filipino cultural identity and is known globally as the
country’s flagship company in ballet and contemporary dance.

Francisco Feliciano is one of the country’s most
important composers and one of Asia’s leading figures in liturgical music who
has created more than 30 major works that include operas and music dramas and
hundreds of liturgical pieces, mass settings, hymns, and songs for worship.

Ramon Santos is a world-renowned Filipino
composer whose works have been performed in major music festivals around the
world. He has also done extensive studies in Philippine traditional music and
Southeast Asian and Southern China music.

Francisco V. Coching was an illustrator and writer
regarded by many as one of the pillars of the Philippine comic book industry.
He was the man behind popular comic book characters Pedro Penduko and Hagibis
that graced the pages of Liwayway magazine.

Jose Maria Zaragoza was considered a major
figure in the architectural development of the Philippines. Among the places he
designed were the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City, St. John Bosco Parish
Church in Makati, and the Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Posadas
Village, Muntinlupa.

The Communications Secretary said President
Aquino will confer the Order of the National Artist on these individuals in an
appropriate ceremony in Malacanang. The artist's Francisco V. Coching and Jose
Maria Zaragoza will both be awarded posthumously. PND (hdc)

Malacanang says government continues efforts to
curb trafficking in persons

Malacanang on Saturday said the government would
further strengthen its efforts to combat human trafficking after the country
retained its Tier 2 status in the United States’s annual Trafficking in Persons
(TIP) Report.

In an interview with the state-owned radio
station dzRB Radyo Ng Bayan, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte
said the TIP Report cited the country’s gains in curbing human trafficking and
the areas that need to improve.

The report released on June 20, the Philippines
remained at Tier 2 on the State Department’s three tier ranking system.

The TIP report noted that the Philippines made
significant efforts to combat trafficking. It, however, noted that the
government does not yet fully comply with the minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking.

In the radio interview, Valte noted the efforts
of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, headed by the Department of
Justice, to keep the country’s Tier 2 status, such as the additional
prosecutors assigned to handle trafficking cases.

Valte said the Department of Social Welfare and
Development continued to operate 26 temporary shelters for victims of abuse.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), on the other hand, has been
conducting pre-employment seminars for overseas Filipino workers.